Strange Secret Life, Great Hot in Cleveland, etc.

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Monday:
The Secret Life of the American Teenager (S03E10): natural to see the kids so excited about the last day of school. I thought was were closer than this when Amy left for New York, but I guess not. Ben didn't know Betty spoke Spanish, LoL. Ben's cardigan seemed out of place, even for him. I guess Amy giving up the French horn is now common knowledge, not a secret with Ashley. Interesting that Ricky is finally bringing up how Ben was kinda interfering during Amy's pregnancy. I don't like Ashley sometimes. Ricky can just afford to fly to New York THE NEXT DAY??!? Interesting that Ben's dad wants him to invite all these people over. Why would Henry and Alice invite everyone? I'm getting tired of Madison. The medcamp coincidence was funny. Alice dances funny. Intriguing that the new kid is "going back in the closet" hahaha. The "I'm not good at parties" thing by Ashley was hilarious. Ricky is creepily excited about seeing Amy. Grace was kinda awkward about "this is what I want to do with my life - stay up and party and laugh" LoL. Aren't these kids young to like Dumb and Dumber? LoL.

Cake Boss (S03E13): So now it's very clearly May, since they've got Mother's Day stuff going on. And I can certainly understand the demands on bakeries during this time, as my wedding was on Mother's Day weekend, and it affected both my florist and my baker. The LemonIce thing was funny, and Anthony definitely didn't get it, LoL. Painting on blades of grass was a nice, small touch. The handyman getting inside the oven kinda scared me. Interesting that they're expanding to doing flavored ice. The pecan wedge cake was interesting... a short little plot, too. I feel like the family was dominating the waiting room, LoL. Buddy seemed kinda happy about going for a fourth child. And seeing Buddy give Lisa "Employee of the Month" was cute.

Huge (S01E07): I really feel for the Director, being more out-of-place than the other staff. Interesting bet using someone else's hat. Plus, everyone thinking that nobody has lost weight is kinda depressing. Interesting that Will hadn't touched the candy stash since the first week. The weigh0in was really intense. Chloe seemed kinda happy, but there were definitely some upset people. Ian didn't want to see his number - that was interesting. Ian hit the nail on the head when he pointed out that although they've lost a little weight, they have so far to go. 1 pound must have been heartbreaking for Amber, especially since we now know that she paid for herself to be there.

Tuesday:
19 Kids and Counting (S05E03): Michelle referred to caring for Josie like how she cared for Josh... 20 years ago. She talked about having to do all of the nighttime feedings and the daytime feedings... haha, not as easy without all those daughters, eh? Neat that the kids are going to be extras in a film! The "executive pastor" thing was interesting. Joseph did some talking which was nice. The Kellers also being in Georgia was nice. Joy Anna is apparently a really good crier-on-demand, LoL. 4 tanks of oxygen a week is a LOT. Priscilla, Anna's sister, is also on that Asia trip. Jana is so sweet, I love her "we can do without" attitude. They don't have to do a full 5k for the video... they should be able to handle a block and a half, LoL. Although, as Jill said, they weredoing it over and over. I also thought it was interesting that they mentioned the Duggars can wear shorts in this scene because it is considered "costume" hehe. Why was Michelle bringing up 4 trashcans if it's only her and Josie anyway??

Teen Mom (S02E04):
Catelynn: She is having a family birthday party at the roller rink when she's like 17?? Awkward. But I guess it's cute. Relationship counseling... as a teenager?? Ridiculousness. And how in the world can they afford it? I thought it was weird that Ryan was kinda anti after the first session, when he was the one who had the idea in the first place. The phone records thing seriously creeped me out!
Maci: I love the cartoons of Maci, I think they're really lifelike. The weaning from the pacifier was slightly interesting. She could see herself marrying Kyle "in like 20 years" lmao... when she's knocking on 40?? Maci's pretty good at walking away from Bentley while he cries.
Farrah: the guy who was standing there writing an order or whatever as she and her coworker talked about being single moms was strange. 10 hours of community service... is that even worth anything?? I also can't decide my thoughts on showing so much of this domestic violence issue... it's totally not uncommon, and I'm not sure if that's the angle that they're trying to hit or not. It amuses me that Farrah's mom still thinks she's done nothing wrong.
Amber: a 16-hour drive with Amber's dad in the car? Sounds like a pain in the butt. They're always breaking up and getting back together... what makes Gary think they could get married? Amber has nicer legs than I was going to guess. Maybe she's lost some weight in general, actually. They looked like they had a really good time dancing on the beach. She made me angry when she quibbled with Gary over the wording in his proposal, LoL.

If You Really Knew Me (S01E04): I'm not really sure I actually understand why this is a regular series and not just some sort of two-hour special. What's the draw to watching the same stuff every week? Just seeing that you're not alone, that every school has cliques and that every kid has a sucky life in one way or another?
Oklahoma City, 1400 students, diverse population. It also amuses me that there's a "bisexual" group at the school... we totally didn't have that ten years ago. I also don't know that I appreciate the camera only showing the "cross the lines" when a good portion of the students cross. There are totally times in that activity where only a few students cross, and I think that those moments are just as powerful. Malcolm went ultra-public, I feel. I did, however, like that two of the older girls going and talking to the freshmen girls about the experience. Kyle was weird trying to make a friend, LoL.

Wipeout (S03E11): Families today - mothers & sons; fathers & daughters. A new obstacle in the qualifier. Not too much exciting. The bruiseball round was amusing... the board game mom got knocked by the same bat TWICE without seeing it, haha. And we actually had to use a photo finish, which was interesting.

Wednesday:
Hot in Cleveland (S01E09): I love how Elka likes Susan Lucci. The "usual" joke with Victoria was pretty funny. And I also can't decide how I feel about that bar becoming a regular hangout for this crew. Victoria being offended at Joy's comment about celebrities being just like everyone else was hilarious. Elka spreading an illness rumor about Victoria was good. And the fact that she was knitting when Victoria found out was cute. The far-sighted thing is also a nice running joke. Victoria might need to read up on this disease a little bit, LoL. Melanie's aloud internet acronyms were funny, too. Joy's shopping for therapists is intriguing. Victoria not remembering how many kids she has was a little too Karen Walker for me. Jane Leeves is so fabulous. Elka translated text-speak is lovely. Another Justin Bieber crack. The late limp had me cracking up, and the Dr. House part made it even better. And then the wikipedia joke. And then the fake twitching. I was practically on the floor! And the fact that the foundation was willing to keep the lie going to earn them some money was laughable. The goiter had me gaping. "I was talking to the goiter" stole the show. This is probably the funniest episode yet!

Minute to Win It (S02E06): Again with this "over theming." This week, they found a pair (Scott & Emily) who worked in the same office (then got married), and made all of the games playable with just office supplies. Whatever. OfficeMax got QUITE the plug, too.
Game 1: Office Maximus: Bounce rubber band balls to knock over reams of paper. Do it three times in sixty seconds. He gets it.
Game 2: Clipper: Ping Pong balls get rolled down a slanted table, using binder clips as bumpers and as holders. Get balls in all three holders. She has two of them in, but knocks them both out again. When the timer buzzes, she only has the two outer ones in, not the middle. He tries and gets it.
Game 3: Speed Eraser: Bounce a pencil into a cup seven times in sixty seconds. Scott goes for it. He gets it really freaking easily.
Game 4: Office Fling: a rubber band is stretched across two chair legs on an overturned chair. Using it as a slingshot, fling a folded piece of paper onto a desk 12 feet away. Unlimited tries, and it only has to land and stay on the desk once. She gets pretty close several times before nailing it around the 30-second mark.
Game 5: Office Tennis: Both play, using clipboards as racquets, volley a paper ball back and forth while moving sideways, and eventually get the ball into a wastebasket. Unlimited tries, but there were a few ruled regarding not hitting it twice and such. They were pretty good at volleying, but had a lot of problems getting it into the can... they achieve that goal with 15 seconds to spare.
Game 6: Coffee Topper: Drop CDs three feet to land on a plastic cup without falling off. Do it once, unlimited attempts. It looks pretty hard, since it's really easy for them to bounce right off... Scott goes for it, and runs out of time. He goes again, and gets it in just 10 seconds that time.
Backflip: Balance two pencils on the back of your hand, and flip them off and catch them. Then do 4, then 6, then 8, then 10, then 12, then 14, then 16 (* I think. They might only be 2, 4, 8, 12, 16). Never drop any. Scott does it (of course, ::eye roll::), and gets it.

I think they decided to go home because Emily was going to have to play the next game, and she's not that good, LoL. $125,000 is nice, though. And they're using it to help have a family, so cheers.

Thursday:
Futurama (S06E09): The Flying Spaghetti Monster joke was good. Was the Ryan Seacrest joke supposed to imply that he is the most memorable human, LoL? Amy severing a finger weirded me out. The tricycletops was out of control. Helicopter hummingbird was also odd. I thought the joke at the robots of calling the current patrons future exhibits was funny.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Off season/Coming Up:
Melissa & Joey (starts Aug 17th at 8pm)
Little People, Big World (season 6 starts September 6th)
House, M.D. (season 7 starts September 20th)
How I Met Your Mother (season 6 starts September 20th)
The Simpsons (season 22 starts September 26th)
Family Guy (season 9 starts September 26th)
Mr. Sunshine (new show, starts in the Fall on ABC)
South Park (have not yet heard, but I assume October or so)
Table for 12: (missing "summer," "busy day," "jumping in," "brace yourself," "back to school")
16 and Pregnant (unknown)
Kate Plus Eight (not sure when season 1 continues)

Drinking to Gilmore Girls

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

This one, I must admit, was not my idea. I was sitting around at work talking about drinking to television shows and a co-worker mentioned that her friend had a great one for Gilmore Girls. I've looked over it, and I must agree - it's pretty awesome! I have not personally tested it, but it has some great reviews, so let's take a look! Original with credits here, it doesn't fit on this page correctly. I cut it into two pieces so you can see it here directly, although many of the photos are cut.I think my favorites are:
- when someone drinks coffee
- take two drinks if there's a reference to something that you don't get
- when Luke isn't wearing flannel (or plaid, really)
- when someone is listening to a message on an answering machine or voicemail
- there's a town meeting
- Richard knows the name of a maid

I actually had to sit there and think... has it ever rained in Stars Hollow? Do we ever see Mr. Kim? LoL. Try it and and enjoy, let me know what else you think should be on here! :)

Sons of Tucson Ends; Duggars are Back

by Amy K. Bredemeyer


Sunday:
Sons of Tucson (S01E13): Series Finale. A tennis ball and a box of crayons in Robbie's lunch? That's funny. The Blue Angels... lmao lmao lmao... I've seen them - amazing but pretty near priceless. I liked Ron's shirt in the beginning of the episode (the blue sweater thing). With the palatial size of that room, how does Ron not realize there's gotta be more to the house than a storage closet??!? Pretty sweet digs, tho!! Strange guy posing as the lawyer... I liked Gary working as a telecommuter, but the pacing of his lines didn't work quite right. How much time has passed that the kids have sold all of their major appliances?? Crazycool block party!! Interesting take that Ron would do more for the kids than for Gina. I agree with Gary - I never would have expected that reaction. The Blue Angels thing was cool-looking, although so not real, haha. Robbie trying to find a father in a firefighter was amusing. Cute bonding moment at the end with the underarm farts. I guess we just assume that they continue making it work even though there are daily crazy events.

Monday:
The Secret Life of the American Teenager (S03E09): Rough start for Ashley today. Leo is really starting to get an attitude towards Ben. Tom is having such a rough time between losing the job and his girlfriend. :( The battery-lit candle was cool. hahahahaha, Grace just assumed her friend was gay, and he's not! Awwww... George totally lied to Ashley when he said that Ricky wanted to eat and talk with her. Weird convo between Amy and Ashley about Ricky... Amy KNEW Ashley and he would kiss?? oooh... the guy IS gay... but closeted. Bringing in the counselor issue brings up a new issue to the show, and I hope it is pursued further. I also love that the Grace-Jack storyline is still there. The dad played it well... emotional and hesitant but honest and true. hahahahaha, his parents tried to set him up! How incredibly weird yet awesome. I'm so happy that the kid was so happy to tell Grace the truth. I can't decide how I feel about Amy giving up the french horn...

Cake Boss (S03E12): Interesting that they want to cake to move and dance and spin and that Buddy isn't sure if he can... he's made much crazier! Cute that Buddy and his son get their hair cut side-by-side. Wasn't crazy about the making of either cake today, but that's rare so no big deal.

Huge (S01E06): Interesting service. If the director was so paranoid about the hike, why send them... why not go, too? And if the group is supposed to be "small," why are ALL of the main characters going? Poppy has become a little too "granola" for me. The flashback was neat. Alistair choosing "Athena" as a new name was neat. Trent creeped me out a tad as he searched for mushrooms. Chloe and Alistair are twins... then why didn't he go to camp last year, too? I had previously assumed that he was younger than her, so this was his first year, haha. Why didn't Amber and Will ask the woman in the diner where they were? I'm really beginning to wonder where this show is, geographically. Amber and George kissing better start putting an end to that half-romance storyline.. I'm tired of it. Will pulling a donut from a dumpster and then pulling out a milk carton grossed me out, so I'm really glad that she ended up NOT consuming those items. The director on a date was cute. I thought it would have been nice to see a little more of the team-building or spiritual activities they did on the hike. Are we not going to see Amber tell Chloe about kissing George??

Tuesday:
19 Kids and Counting (S05E01 & S05E02): I'm a little confused on why we keep showing parts of Josie's birth... aren't we over that yet? She was born at 25 weeks and 4 days, we know. In May they tried to release her from the hospital and couldn't. In "present day," they are still showing her in the hospital. Holy mackerel - 2 tons of furniture?!? Cool that the Asia mission trip was Jana's idea, and intriguing that they "made" her "take" John-David along. A two-month mission trip is pretty neat, and I'm glad that they got this experience. When did they get this red bus? Why doesn't Michelle move to a smaller space now that it's just her in Little Rock again? Not a lot of focus on Joy Anna or the boys.

The Legislature segment was interesting. Too bad that Michelle couldn't be there for Jill to turn 19 (although I haven't spent a birthday with my mom since I was 18, so I guess it's not uncommon). I love that the "low maintenance" child is the one with braces, LoL. Interesting that they're packing new clothes (since Jana is tearing off tags). Cool that Josh and Anna are hanging out with Jana and John-David all night so they get their sleeping different. Cool that we get to see John-David do some volunteer firefighter stuff, since we learned that he joined quite a while ago. And nice that it was a false alarm, I was a little concerned that this was going the way of "we missed the flight," haha. I thought Josh's business wasn't going so great...? I guess he's fine now if they're buying a second lot! Anna looks a little self-conscious of her midriff... is she pregnant again? Is she still carrying some baby weight? Mackynzie is so cute as she babbles. Awwww... all that pumping and little Josie is lactose intolerant!! In 5.5 months, Michelle pumped almost 500 gallons... too bad. That's nice that she could donate it, tho. Josie is looking much better. I gotta wonder, though... could they not have checked for lactose intolerance any earlier??

Teen Mom (S02E03):
Catelynn: Ryan needs to get over his issues with letting go of Carly.
Maci: I don't know what I think about teen mothers in clubs, LoL.
Farrah: I had to walk out of the room when we saw that Sophia had a pedicure on her first birthday... that is just ridiculous. Also, from the clips that they showed, it was totally rude of Farrah's parents to ignore her and only focus on Sophia.
Amber: I am tired of seeing her cry. And she wears too much eye makeup. ANd she sucks at life, so I hope Gary really does leave her for good.

If You Really Knew Me (S01E03): 1300 students in a rural school in Belle, West Virginia. I'm kinda under the impression that the counties in WV are really big, given the info they're saying demographically. Camo is popular, punks wear trendy clothes (and there's only like 10 of them at the school), and there's a clique called "creekers" who hang out by the creeks & are very rednecky. The homecoming queen (pretty and smart) is a hunter. Seems like mostly younger kids they're following here.I forgot about the game where "move x seats to the y if you're wearing z," etc. It amuses me how many kids in this show are upset about their parents being divorced... where I grew up, only the rich kids had both of their parents together. The rest of us all had divorced/remarried folks. I guess that's why I stopped caring two years or so after my parents divorced. How can you believe that someone who always makes jokes about people is just going to stop? That's kinda ridiculous. And a lot of people obviously lied when they said they'd "miss" the mental problem kid... they couldn't all have even known her before this, since she's a freshman, only been there a month, and an "outcast."

I wonder how many students they actually follow, since how can you bank on the fact that the one group you pick end up being interesting?

Wipeout (S03E10): haha, the contestant is going to get a nose job without having a real job, LoL. The big balls moving is hard. The one guy being on the shake-a-lator for like four minutes is crazy, only to fall when he tried to jump anyway! Fluffy Diva was funny, especially since the first thing she's buying is lipo! I think Jill might have meant "Mary Poppins" when she said "Cinderella." The Chewbacca contestant was ridiculous. Frank was crazy good... and a 2:11 time is pretty much unheard of! Nothing too exciting in the two middle rounds. Frank really was a MACHINE tonight! Almost finishing around 3 minutes and then finishing for real with 5:41! (when the next-closest time was over 10 minutes!)

Wednesday:
Hot in Cleveland (S01E08): "Just because I'm chained to the fence doesn't mean I can't bark at the cars," haha. The crashing-funerals-to-meet-men thing was funny, too. I don't really like Joy's hair that long. Both Writers' Strike jokes were great. I guess it's not "too soon" anymore. hahahahaha, Victoria was married to a wide receiver and doesn't know what sport that would be. I hope we keep the running joke of Victoria ordering illegal products, LoL. OMG losing an entire eyebrow is rough!! Why not just draw on an eyebrow... why have a giant bandage? I don't know how I feel about Victoria being a regular drama advisor for a high school, LoL.

Minute to Win It (S02E05): Next contestants: Nathan & Chelsea - a random pairing. Picking up where we left off last time... Another sob story about a dad who wanted to be there and couldn't and then Guy has the dad come on the phone.
Game 4: Play it by Ear: Arrange cans in order by how much money they contain: 5 pennies to 40 pennies. You can shake the cans. I think it sounds pretty difficult. But part of it can be done by weight, I'm sure. We also can't see if he's correct until he's done, which is interesting. They apparently have tabs you can pull up, so to see if he's right is easy at the end. He got it correct.
Game 5: Bouncer: Bounce a ping pong ball into each of 24 cups in 60 seconds. They both work on it together. They're both pretty good at it, although Chelsea did get 3 into a single cup for some reason. It also appears as if each has to do 12 cups - Nathan finished 12 and didn't keep going to help with Chelsea's remaining 3. They finished with 26 seconds left to go.
Game 6: Layin' Track: Lay track of staples, over six erasers, and allow a marble to roll through it and into a glass at the other side. Chelsea plays. Her strategy was to start at the end and work backward. Luckily the table is already tilted, so I'm sure that helps. The first marble got off the track, but she adjusted the track and the second marble worked just fine!
Game 7: Breakfast Scramble: 16-piece puzzle where they work together to finish putting it together in 60 seconds. All of the pieces are the same shape (rectangle). The image is a common one: a Froot Loops box front. They finish with 15 seconds to go.
Game 8: Horseplay: Blow ping pong balls across the table and into horseshoes (angled to make it more difficult). The table is inclined as well. Nathan goes for it, and gets the first one with 33 seconds to go. The second one done with 23 seconds to g and the last one with 13 seconds to go!
Game 9: Uphill Battle: Keep three marbles in motion without knocking them off the table, using a large spoon. The table is inclined, but this looks hard! To keep them going for a whole minute?? Nathan plays, again. He was making it look easy, but at 29 seconds left he lost control. On the second try, Chelsea goes for it, and is pushed to take off her jacket, LoL. She messes up about 33 seconds left. Nathan uses the final life. He starts kinda wild and loses it with 51 seconds left. At least they walked away with $250,000.

Random Millionaire attempt: didn't get it. big surprise, LoL.

Thursday:
Futurama (S06E08): I wish they wouldn't keep showing the newest episode a million times each week. I feel like I randomly catch it like four or five times. "Supy Dupy Poopy Scoopy" was dumb. Amy has been a grad student for 12 years? LOL. The auto-refill cups were awesome. Mars University, haha. Nice of the Professor to give up his labcoat. "Revelant" instead of "relevant." awww, they all denied her doctorate! I don't like Nibbler's "voice." A human puppet maneuvered by a dog and adapted for use by a cat... that's a new one! The cats being responsible for the building of the Egyptian pyramids is funny. "you stole my thesis" "welcome to academia" is very accurate. All of the cats rubbing against the same building to generate an electric charge was also interesting. I miss those toys where you pull the cord and the arrow spins and says some sort of animal sound, hehe.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Off season/Coming Up:
Melissa & Joey (starts Aug 17th at 8pm)
Little People, Big World (season 6 starts September 6th)
House, M.D. (season 7 starts September 20th)
How I Met Your Mother (season 6 starts September 20th)
The Simpsons (season 22 starts September 26th)
Family Guy (season 9 starts September 26th)
Mr. Sunshine (new show, starts in the Fall on ABC)
South Park (have not yet heard, but I assume October or so)
Table for 12: (missing "summer," "busy day," "jumping in," "brace yourself," "back to school")
16 and Pregnant (unknown)
Kate Plus Eight (not sure when season 1 continues)

Lie to Me, Burn Notice, & a New Contributor

by Jonathan Bredemeyer

Monday
Lie to Me (S02E18)- "Headlock": Lightman always seems to have friends in low places, so the fact that he's in with the street fighting crowd isn't surprising. It is a bit shocking watching him cover up his proximity to his friend's murder so quickly, but Lightman has no problem asking Agent Ben Reynolds to delay a DNA match put in by the FBI. What's really odd is that Torres destroys evidence for Lightman automatically and insists on being involved with helping him. Torres seems to have the run of the office underlings with Loker seemingly unable to detect when she lies to him. It's nice to see that Bill Clinton's picture is a permanent fixture on the office wall. Foster's the target of a side story this episode and struggles with trusting her new boyfriend. She also seems to have lost the ability to tell when people are lying as he's successfully been covering up the fact that he's a DEA agent and using a fake name. At the end of the episode when Lightman meets the fellow, he picks up on this lie immediately. For being lied to the entire time and previously screwed out of a promotion by Lightman, the head FBI agent is surprisingly mellow when he discovers Reynolds and Lightman's cover-up. He's even cooperative enough to play along for the final setup to catch the out of town killer. After the case is solved, Foster introduces the psychologist from a juvenile detection facility in a previous episode as her boyfriend. She asks Cal to leave him alone, which of course it's assumed he does not do as the show ends with him taking off his jacket (to sit down and begin researching him). With no other suspects most of the episode, there's no one for the Lightman Group to interview, making this episode atypical and light on actual lie detecting.

Thursday
Burn Notice (S04E09): Hurricanes make Floridians tough, so it makes sense one shows up in Burn Notice. Michael's trying to track down Simon to determine who owns the Bible with the code breaker in it. Vaughn shows back up at Michael's request to see what he's found. For some reason, Michael appears to lose his temper, which nearly never happens, as Vaughn doesn't grant his request to see Simon. Sam's old FBI buddies stop by and become clients with a fishy story about a failed hurricane hit. While Mike and Sam run off to track a gun, Vaughn shows up to 'sweet talk' Fiona into getting him the Bible, for Michael and Jesse's sake. Ironically at the same time, Weston is sweet talking the hit man who spared his new clients into believing he's a competitive hit man. Michael is forced to save the hitman's life while they're trying to steal an emergency vehicle. Jesse finally makes his second appearance of the episode as he, Michael's mom, and Fi search the target's house for his girlfriend's address. After a coded radio message that even Michael's mom can decode (is this a shot at marines' intelligence since the hitman is a discharged marine?), Michael gets away when the real rival hitman shows up. When Michael and his new found ally in the hitman that had previously held him hostage are trapped in the target's girlfriend's house, they start on the 'Burn Notice first rule of defending against people with guns': make a bomb. Michael convinces Cole (the now ex-hitman) to join him and help stop the hit. The bomb along with a distraction help the two fend off the hit team and the FBI agents get to take credit for preventing the hit. It's announced there's another tropical storm coming, which means the business with Vaughn is not over. I'm not sure who thought Fiona would help Vaughn, but the dramatic point is when she tells Michael she chose him and handed him the Bible. Michael sets a date with Vaughn to meet Simon in the next episode.

Spy Lessons rating: Nothing new...

If you can't tell, this isn't Amy. I have the pleasure of being her husband and will be a contributor on her blog with reviews for Burn Notice and Lie to Me. My TV interests are vastly different (I think reality TV is a good measure of the negatives in popular culture) and I'm a bit more analytical. I also have the honor of testing The Talking Box drinking games for final approval, a tough job but someone's gotta do it. I'm up for comments and always like to argue. Happy watching.

Favorite Episodes: Mad About You

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I recently finished watching every episode of Mad About You. My husband and I enjoy watching a show from start to finish, as I believe I have mentioned before (like with Joey). You really get a feel for the writing, how the characters evolve, and how storylines rotate focus. He can even sometimes tell the writers apart after watching the episodes like that!

Mad About You contains the best Thanksgiving episode ever, and there's a drinking game to the show. The secondary characters change just a little too much for my taste, but I just got so attached to Paul and Jamie that it didn't really matter. At the end of the day, the show is solid, although it does have one of the very worst series finales ever.

But enough of the bad, let's talk about the good!

Season 1: "Sofa's Choice" (S01E02) It's time that Paul and Jamie buy their first couch together, and Jamie is making a ridiculously big deal about it. She brings in multiple friends to second-guess their choices, and the conversations span the gamut as Paul gets to know Fran & Mark a little better. [no video available]

Season 2: "Disorientation" (S02E21) In perhaps one of the funniest episodes in the series, Fran, Lisa, and Ira have to help Paul get Jamie registered for college classes when he realizes he forgot to mail in her tuition paperwork... the morning of the first day of the semester! Everyone weasels their way around (and gets yet another student ID photo taken) and they manage to pull it off without Jamie knowing completely(despite the fact that she's there most of the time!). Yes, it's dated (registering for classes in person??!?), but it's soooo funny. Not the greatest clip, as the first half has nothing to do with the storyline and the second half only shows Jamie with all of the IDs, but it's something.

Season 3: "Purseona" (S03E18) Again, it's only funny to those of us old enough to appreciate that you really did have to track people down without using a cellular phone. But, as Paul gets ready to leave the country, Lisa takes Jamie's purse by mistake as she heads off to a job interview. Jamie's purse contains Paul's passport, and as he keeps trying to put off his flight, they have to track down Lisa (who is incredulously unaware that the purse is not hers for the LONGEST time). [no video clip available]

Season 4: "Do Me a Favor" (S04E16) Ira's girlfriend's daughter wants an autographed picture of the mayor. With Jamie working in the mayor's office, it should be fairly simple. But, nope! Instead, a series of misunderstandings starts when Paul's new camera captures a photo of a shady deal going down. [no video clip available]

Season 5: "The Feud" (S05E22) Everyone has a different idea for the style of crib for the baby, particularly Paul's and Jamie's respective mothers. Paul is getting into poker, but ends up winning big, only to have the earnings paid through random household chores instead of cash. The only video clip online is the end credits with Jamie winning at poker.

Season 6: "The Second Mrs. Buchman" (S06E16) So the main storyline is about how Jamie learns that Paul was married once before, in college. He doesn't tell the whole story upfront, so Jamie goes in search of the woman and finds out she's an elderly Russian who wanted citizenship. But the funnier plot involved Paul's side of the family while Paul acts as a baseball umpire. [no video clip available]

Season 7: "The Silent Show" (S07E05) In therapy, it comes to light that Paul and Jamie aren't listening to one another anymore, so it's suggested that they go an entire day without verbal communication. At first, it's just a hassle. But as time goes on and crazier things happen, Paul cracks and shouts when Mabel crawls (which she had been doing earlier but nobody saw). Additionally, the guys from STOMP have moved in above. [no video clip available]